


Ereri Winter Weekend

by Gootbuttheichou



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ereri Events, Ereri winter weekend 2016, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:35:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8874205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gootbuttheichou/pseuds/Gootbuttheichou
Summary: "Levi knows if he’d try to drink his coffee now, he’d burn his tongue; but he didn’t buy it to drink, only to smell." 
For Ereri Winter Weekend 2016





	1. Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see (again)
> 
> many thanks to [Kristi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/reynkout/works)for giving me the inspiration to write this prompt! <3
> 
> kudos/comments appreciated <3
> 
> hope you enjoy!

“Welcome to Titan Beans!” a cheerful voice calls out as a soft tinkling bell announces the arrival of a new customer, and Levi takes a moment to breathe in the comforting scents of cinnamon, freshly baked bread, vanilla, and hot steamed milk. 

“What can we get for you today?” the friendly cashier asks, a pleasant smile on his face, and Levi’s eyes scan the menu, thankful the locally owned business has descriptions of the drinks listed. 

“I think I’ll try the caramel macchiato,” he finally says, and the cashier nods as she rings his order up. She tells him his total and Levi hands her the right amount of cash, rifling through his wallet for a five dollar bill to drop in the tip jar. The cashier smiles at him and hands him his receipt. 

“Eren will have that ready for you in just a moment.”

“Thank you.” Levi moves out of the way so as not to hold up the line behind him, entertaining himself by looking at the different assortment of pastries in the display case. 

“Levi?” a pleasant tenor calls out, and Levi turns around to see a tall brunet gently setting a coffee cup and saucer on the counter. Levi walks up to his drink, his eyes widening slightly at the intricate foam art, and the man- Eren- smiles at him. “Enjoy!”

“Thank you,” Levi says, his eyes briefly locking with Eren’s before he drops his gaze to the cup and turns around to find a table. He finds an empty one in the corner of the store by a window, and he settles down comfortably in his chair before he gently lifts his cup up, his eyes slipping shut as he inhales the comforting scents of the warm milk, the sweet caramel, the robust espresso, and a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. He knows if he’d try to drink it now he’d burn his tongue; but he didn’t buy it to drink, only to smell. 

He opens his eyes to watch out the window of the shop, the warmth of the cup slowly leeching into his fingertips, and Levi finds himself feeling at peace, a sense of calm quiet after a productive day at work. 

He doesn’t realize how much time passes, despite the fact that he’s been watching the darkening sky shift from cornflower blue to light purple with streaks of pink, yellow, and orange, and finally to the darkness of night, until a voice calls out to him.

“Sir? I’m just letting you know that we’ll be closing in about fifteen minutes.” Levi turns his head to see the barista who made his drink smiling at him politely, a broom and rag in hand. He watches as thick brown eyebrows slowly rise arch up, green eyes staring pointedly at the untouched drink. “Did you not like the drink, sir?”

Levi opens his mouth, feeling a little silly as he glances at the name tag- right, Eren- before clearing his throat. “Ah, no, it was wonderful.” He looks away from Eren’s dubious expression, never having had to explain this to a barista before. “I actually don’t drink coffee, I’m a tea drinker. But sometimes I like to buy a cup, just hold it in my hands to warm up and smell the flavors.” 

There’s a long moment of silence, and each awkward second that passes by makes Levi realize how odd he must sound. Finally, Eren makes a small noise.

“Huh. Well… that’s a first.” Levi looks up to see Eren scratching the back of his head, his eyebrows and lips pulled together in a confused expression before he shrugs. “But to each his own, I guess.” He offers Levi a small smile and reaches a hand out, offering to clear his cup from the table. “I’m glad you enjoyed it?”

Levi returns the smile as he hands Eren the cup. “Yes, I’ll definitely have to come back for more.”


	2. Blankets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> set in canon (when? who knows. let's just go with eren is 18)

Winter in Paradis differs depending on what region one is in- the southern regions are much more milder compared to the brutal, bitter, and windy bone chilling cold of the northern regions. That doesn’t mean that the cold is uncomfortable in the south, though- in fact, Levi seems to think it grows worse every year, locking up his joints and keeping his fingers from ever warming back up enough to properly hold a pen. Perhaps everyone experiences the same thing as they age, but either way, Levi isn’t fond of winter; never has been, actually. He spent his childhood winters underneath Mitras shivering when business was too slow for ma to buy coal, food and blankets. Then when he joined the Survey Corps and relocated to Wall Maria, the climes were milder, making winter less miserable (though it probably helped that he now had constant access to cloaks and fires. After Wall Maria had fallen and the Survey Corps set up headquarters in Wall Rose, Levi would find himself staring at the little glass thermometer each winter, wondering why it was colder than it had been to the south. He remembers asking Hange about this once, but any answer his comrade had provided hadn’t made itself permanent in his memory bank.

Either way, winter is cold, and Levi isn’t fond of the cold.

Levi is especially not fond of it today, trying to keep his teeth from chattering as he burns his palms on a freshly brewed cup of tea, trying to unfreeze his fingers enough to write this bloody report. He briefly wonders if he could check the inventory and order extra blankets, but then that’d means he’d have to check the budget. All this thinking is giving him a headache, and Levi just wishes he could draw a bath- but heating up the water would use up their coal rations.

He lets his head drop with a groan, the steam from his cup offering a reprieve from the cold air around him, and then a knock sounds on his office door. “Come in,” he groans as he sits himself back upright. His expression doesn’t change when he sees Eren open the door, even though he feels a sense of relief in his chest- Eren is much more welcome than boring reports. “Eren. Faring well with the weather?”

“Captain,” Eren salutes out of respect and formality before he shuts the door, trying to keep what little heat the fireplace is providing inside of the room, something Levi is grateful for. “It’s a little bit colder up here than I remember winters in Shiganshina being, but I’m sure it’s much colder up north.”

“It is,” Levi mutters, but the thought doesn’t comfort him since it’s still cold enough to freeze his balls off _here_. It’s then that he notices that, instead of Eren being bundled up like everyone else, he’s only in his shirt, jacket, and a light cloak, something that makes Levi arch a dubious eyebrow. “You don’t look cold.”

Eren glances down at his clothes and shrugs. “Titan powers keep me warm. Armin’s dressed like this, too- it’s funny, he used to have to carry around a blanket as a kid just to stay warm in the winter, but now he’s pawned it off to whoever looks the coldest.”

Levi wants to ask how Eren kept warm as a child in the winter, before his father injected him with the serum, but a voice in his head asks if that’s an appropriate question to ask him, so he just hums indeterminately. “Must be nice to be able to feel your fingers.” He immediately feels like he said something wrong when Eren’s face seems to fall.

“Sorry, Sir, I didn’t mean to brag, I…” he trails off to rub his arm awkwardly, and Levi remembers that Eren didn’t ask for his father to turn him into a titan, the enemies they’ve been fighting, the creatures that ate his mother and destroyed his hometown; he never asked to be able to heal rapidly or be constantly warm.

“Don’t apologize, I brought it up.” He looks back down at his report for the sake of not having to look at Eren, knowing Eren will take a seat if he wants to. _Why did he even come here?_ Levi thinks, but when he looks back up to ask Eren what he wanted to speak with him about, he’s not standing in front of his desk- and when warm hands alight atop of Levi’s shoulders, he jumps a little in his seat.

“Sorry,” Eren apologizes with a small squeeze to tense shoulders as he looks down at the report. Levi just steadies his nerves with a slow intake of breath, rubbing his hands on the still warm cup of tea as he lets his elbows rest on the desk again.

“What did you come to talk about?” he asks, his shoulders enjoying the warmth Eren’s hands are providing, and Eren hums above him.

“Uh… oh, I finished my chores, so I just wanted to come see if there was anything else I needed to do.”

_Stay and keep me warm_ , the voice in his head thinks, but Levi dismisses it with a scowl, turning his head to see how much sunlight is still available. “Well, it looks like you wouldn’t be able to do anything outside soon.” His eyes suddenly widen, wondering how low the temperatures will drop tonight, and he turns to eye his (dreadfully low) woodbin. “Who all chopped firewood today?”

“We all did,” Eren replies as he slips away from Levi, the Captain wondering where he’s going until Eren opens the door to reveal a large box of firewood. “This is for you.”

“... Mine?” That’s more than he normally gets- just how much wood did everyone chop today? Or did Eren pilfer some that was meant for the barracks or kitchen?

“Yep!” Eren says with a cheerful smile as he lifts the bin with ease, shutting the door with his foot before making his way to Levi’s fireplace. “I can tell the cold has been affecting you, so I thought I’d cut some extra wood for you so you wouldn’t be as cold tonight.”

Levi doesn’t know what to say- his mouth opens, and then closes when his brain doesn’t supply any words. But he knows he has to say _something_ , so when Eren sets the bin down on the floor and turns back to look at Levi, he manages to speak. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Eren smiles, gesturing to the dwindling fire. “Want me to?”

“I- yes, please.” Levi watches as Eren heaves out a huge log, the smell of pine and Eren filling the room as he observes the way muscles roll, glide, and flex under the fabric of his clothes, the corners of his hair slightly darker with perspiration beading near his hairline. The snap of the log in the fire pulls Levi out of his ogling long enough to divert his attention to something more appropriate, like the unfinished report on his desk. The attention he gives it is short lived, however, because Eren is much more interesting to watch, especially when he turns around with a smile after stuffing the fireplace.

“Better?”

“Much.” Eren’s smile is infectious, so Levi can’t help but return it. The room already feels a bit warmer, and Levi lets out a sigh of comfort as he tugs his blanket closer around his shoulders, his eyes slipping shut when he curls his hands around the warm cup of tea. Eren’s shuffling prompts him to open his eyes, only to find a blanket slung over the brunet’s shoulders, and a hand extended to Levi.

“Come warm up with me.”


End file.
